Thill-coupling.



'No. 696,897. l 'Patented Apr. I, |902. MCKENDREE-F. BISHOP &. M. A.TOLINE.

THILL CDUPLING.

(Application led Iec, 27, 1898.!

V(No Model.)

...SIE

llNi'rnn Starte l trice.

Fafrnnir MCKENDREE F. BISHOP AND MARTIN A. TOLINE, OF SAN JOSE,CALIFORNIA;

SAID TOLINE ASSIGNOR TO SAID BISHOP, AND I. W'. IVINANS, OF PLYM- OUTH,CALIFORNIA.

Ti-uLL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 696,897', dated April1, 1902.

Application filed December 27, 1898. Serial No. 700,445. (No model.)

To @ZZ 'tu/"wm it may concern:-

Be it known that we,MCKENDREE F. BISHOP and MARTIN A. TOLINE,citiZens ofthe United States, residing at San Jose, in the county of Santa ClaraandState of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin 'Phill-Couplings; and we do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enioable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe saine.

Our present invention relates to that class of devices known in the artas thill-couplings, but more particularly to the subclass termedantirattling thill-couplings.

The prime objects of our invention are to produce a device of this classwhich possesses the requisites of strength and durability and which willbe especially simple in construczo tion and efficient in operation.

In carrying out the above prime objects we have not overlooked thematter of economy in the costof manufacture and in addition have aimedto improve a device of this character z 5 generally by insuring absolutesecurity of connection.

Other incidental objects and advantages of our invention willhereinafter appear, and the novel features thereof Will be particularlyset forth in the appended claims.

The objects of our invention we are enabled to accomplish by the meansillust-rated in the accompanying drawings, in Which- Figure lis aperspective View of our invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section takeninthe direction of the arrows in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section on the lineo: to, Fig. 2. Figs. et and 5 are similar views of modifications.

Referring now to the above views, in which similar numerals of referencedesignate corresponding parts, l represents a broken-off portion of anordinary vehicleaXle,over which straddles the clip 2. Connecting theopposite legs of the clip 2 and securely bound thereto and against thelower face of the axle by means of the nuts 3 is the plate 4. The rearextremity of this plate is thinned or rabbeted out, as shown in Fig. 2,thereby forming a cavity for the interposition of a spring 5 betweenplate 4 and axle l. The forward end of the plate 4 terminates in a hook6, whose open mouth is upturned, as shown.

Secured to the thill 7 by means of bolts or other secure means is thethill-iron 8, whose rear projecting extremity 9 is formed with a 55suitable bearing-face adapted to rest or rock in the cavity or seatformed by the hook G. Secured to the extremity 9 by means of the bolt lOor any other suitable means, one of which we have shown in Fig. 4c andwill eX- plain hereinafter, is the clevis ll, the lower turning portionof which is engaged by the outer free hooked end l2 of the spring 5.

Theinvention so farset forth makes it mauifest that the resilientquality of spring 5 eX- 65 erts a constant tensile force to clevis ll,thereby drawing the extremity 9 snugly into its seat and in so doingprevents any relative movement of parts other than the rocking due tothe gait of the animal. This function ac- -7o complished, thedisagreeable condition of the rattling of parts is thereby prevented.

When it is desired to remove the shafts or pole from which thethill-iron leads,the spring 5 is removed from the clevis 1l and thelatter 75 swung forward sufliciently to permit the thilliron beinglifted out of its seat.

In the event that the spring became broken or disengaged from theclevisthe thill-iron could not accidentally leave its seat, as theconstruction shown of the lower portion of the Y clevis, beingcontracted, would prevent this. The operation of first swinging theclevis forward into a horizontal position is imperative before thethill-irons can be removed. 8 5 lVe are fully aware that by simplyreducing the length of the clevis sufficiently the function of thecontraction above referred to is accomplished.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 we have 9o replaced the bolt l0 byprojections 13, formed integral on the extremity 9. It is manifest thatby slightly spreading the legs of the clevis 11 the perforations can bemade to engage these projections, after which the simple operation ofrestoring the clevis to its normal shape connects the parts in themanner shown. The heads of these projections may be beaten down andslightly spread, which is an additional security against displacementroo of the clevis. We have shown the projection on the right of Fig. 4spread in this manner.

In the modification shown in Fig. `5 we have (lished the surface of theextremity 9 and formed the bearing-surface of the hook 6 to Vcorrespondtherewith. The object of this construction is to prevent water lyingbetween the bearing-surfaces and causing them to rust.

After the animal has been detached from the vehicle it is oftendesirable to raise the shafts and secure them in a vertical position.This is usually accomplished by a suitable wooden prop or cross-brace.Now to obviate the necessity of this prop We have provided the headedpin lll and reception-cavity 15. By

. reference to Fig. 2 it will be seen that as the thills are raisedsufficiently to engage the pin let with cavity l5 the shafts aresecurely held in a vertical position until the pin is allowed to fallinto the position shown.

The construction and arrangement of the several parts of ourthill-coupling being thus made known, the operation and the advantagesof the same will, it is thought, be readily understood.

We are aware that changes in the form and proportion of parts of thedevices herein shown and described as an embodiment of our invention canbe made Without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantagesthereof, and we therefore reserve the right to make such changes andalterations as fairly fall Within the scope of our invention. In thematter of modifications we might mention that the spring 5 could be madeconsiderably shorter and rest between the forward nut 3 and the lowerface of the axle l, in the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2.

What we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A thill-coupling having a rocking and a stationary member, a loosepin passing through said stationary member and adapted to enter a cavityin said rocking member, said pin being formed With an enlarged head forthe purpose of limiting its play, all substantially as shown and for thepurpose set forth.

2. In the thill-coupling described, the combination of the clip, theplate receiving the arms of the clip and having its upper side rabbetedat its rear end and also having` the concavo-convex portion at itsforward end forming a seat, the spring` having its upper rear end seatedin the rabbet of the clip-plate and receiving one arm of the clip andalso having a forwardly-extending arm terminating in a hook, thethill-iron having` the rounded end resting in the seat of theclip-plate, and the clevis pivotally connected to said end ot' thethill-iron and having a contracted lower portion, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a thill-coupling, the combination of a body or plate, a thill-ironbearing therein,l a clevis pivotally connected to and depending from thethill-iron and having a lower con tracted portion and a spring connectedwith the body or plate and having an arm engaging the bight ot' theclevis, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we altix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

MCKENDREE F. BISHOP. MARTIN A. TOLINE. Witnesses:

W. A. COOPER, E. M. Ronenns.

